Read on Twitter
I agree with Jenny and others who promoted freedom of choosing your own schedule. As someone who experienced both extremes in grad school, I’d like to throw in a few thoughts. (1/12) https://twitter.com/icjennikins/status/1304292548127588353
I was in a total synthesis lab for 2 years and then switched to a nanomaterials lab for the rest of my 6.5 years long PhD. The reasons of switching are not entirely mine alone, but I’m glad I did. (2/12)
In the first lab, I did 12-14 hours-a-day shifts including weekends and still couldn’t make the EJ Corey alumnus PI happy. I know what poor Jason Altom must have felt. (3/12)
My PI boasted “if I wanted to make it”, I should do 8 reactions a day including workups and columns. I barely managed 2 and felt like a sore loser. My future looked grim and I thought I wasn’t cut out for academia. (4/12)
Add to this a culture shock, language shock, and that hot humid Houston weather. While figuring out what a social security number was, I was expected to clock in CO insertions into BINAP derivatives. (5/12)
The switch was painful. But thanks to the then department chair (Ken Whitmire), I landed in the new lab (Vicki Colvin) with imposter syndrome at sky high. I soon realized that I was free to set my own schedule! Not only that, Vicki helped me detox for the next 6 months. (6/12)
Gaining my confidence back, I set up a healthy schedule, ON MY OWN, with no weekends or evenings spent in the lab. Soon the data rolled in and then papers, totaling more than my peers combined in the previous lab. (7/12)
I believe there are two reasons for slavedriving in academia: (1) thinking (being taught) this is the only way to succeed, (2) making the most of the funding by squeezing every drop of data from a grad student. (8/12)
There’re many examples like mine that contradicts "more hours = better output" formula. I also don’t agree Organic Chemistry is a special hell. For all I know, if a subject is hard, finishing takes time. Look at social sciences. It takes 8-10 years to get a decent PhD. (9/12)
Then what is it? Greed, it seems. The drive to get the most out of a young person since you’re paying for their wages. It sounds awfully similar to the much damned sweatshops in the developing world. (10/12)
Since there’re no labor laws or unions protecting grad students, some PIs see it as a permission to abuse their mentees. I still find it amusing to see my grad student paycheck listed 20 hours of work as what I was paid for. (11/12)
My advice to younglings is to avoid toxic PIs at all costs and take as much time as they need to finish strong in grad school if they want to make it in academia. (12/12)
